Family Brunch

[in progress]

Eat, bathroom, play, nap, eat...

Who can't love a good schedule? Oh, throw in some shopping and it's on!

Hello, People Live Here!

Photo of buses that are loud, idle and beep when moving backwards. There are also trucks that take garbage away AND make deliveries. You see, I didn't ask the right question. Sure, the garbage gets taken away mid-morning every other day. But the delivery comes in at 7 AM! So, I will be wearing ear plugs to bed Sunday and Thursday nights in preparation for loud Monday and Friday mornings. The good news is that the rest of the mornings are pretty quiet. Another shout out to noise dampening curtains and loud AC.

Noodle Soup

[in progress]

Gotta love the soup and meat from a rotisserie chicken. Also got some fantastic enoki mushrooms and winter melon from the nearby Asian market.

Getting There

[in progress]

Every single item in the apartment has been carefully researched, reviewed, compared and debated. It takes at least a week of negotiation to agree on something and often, what we agree upon is the most expensive option. We have single-handedly increased consumer confidence (and spending) in May.

After visiting over 10 stores for the couch, we came back to our first choice. The Oscar leather sleeper sofa and ottoman - yay for Memorial Day Sales! We got it in espresso and it arrives on Tuesday - just in time for M's mom and brother to sleep on. I had originally wanted a black leather couch because I'm not sure how to match things to brown but the nice saleslady said that they haven't gotten black leather couches in over 10 years. I'm so fashion backward.

We also finished our bedroom. The red curtains have a black out liner attached and it has done wonders for dampening the noise of buses and delivery and garbage trucks. The cherry on top will be one of my grandfather's paintings.

Lil Bro's Graduation

[in progress]

NY in 8 Hours

[in progress]

No Internet

Sorry folks, we do not have internet until Saturday....

The Big Move

[in progress]

Pre-Move

1. Hog-razzlin'
2. Our pool - ready to be open next week! Lease is signed!
3. Peek-a-boo!
4. No photos!
5. Awright, I got my thumb, it's all good.

G's in Town!

Thursday means Riverdale Farmer's Market. The Riverdale Farmer's Market means Bulgogi Cart! G was in town and it was awesome to see her again. More highlights: Silva with a ginormous branch, fresh mini doughnuts, Petunia rolling in poo, Baby R bouncing on his own and declining beer. He didn't even look at it!

5 Spice Chicken

Easy and so yummy over noodles or rice - you can eat this for days! And, well, we do.

5 Spice Chicken
- ginger
- garlic
- 1 lb chicken (I use skinless and boneless thighs because they are around $2/lb, moist and tasty)
- 5 spice powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup rice wine

Sweat garlic and ginger in canola oil. Brown chicken. Add spice, water, soy sauce, rice wine and braise for at least 1 hour. Serve over rice or somen (I call these bachelor noodles because they are thin white noodles that cook up super fast) and sprinkle fresh scallions (yes, me and my scallions).

The Real Housewives of Maryland

Lump - Chapter 10

[in progress]

I asked Dr. H to take pictures of what she took out (turns out it was a hardened cyst). M wouldn't let me post the photos but I think they're interesting. I'm a bit weak but all in all, in good shape. The worst was the IV so aside from some bruising - I'm doing fine.

Mother's Day Bash

M and I made it to Leonia with the help of all of her devices and in spite of the the overpowering fragrance of half a bushel of steamed and spiced blue crabs. Mom ran out the door and the first thing she asked was not, "how are you" or "how was the ride". No, it was "Where's Petunia??!?!"

And of course, Mother's Day would not be complete without a trip to Mom's and my favorite place in the whole world: Woodbury Commons. Surprisingly, the two people who dislike it spent the most money (Dr. Do and M)! I only bought 2 pairs of thermals. The little kitchen things I picked out were not worth waiting in line for.

Even the geese had a nice Mother's Day together.

And then, in addition to Petunia, blue crabs and Woodbury, our final mission of Mother's Day was to get mom tanked. She totally rocked out! We had a great evening of Rock Band and Kareoke Revolution with old family friends.

*Jimmy Cantler's Riverside Inn

Friday night was date night and I looked up the best seafood restaurant in Annapolis. Jimmy Cantler's Riverside Inn had the highest rating and it was the quintessential Maryland experience.

The inn had rows of tables with brown paper on them and a blackboard showing you how to eat crab. There was a boisterous goose who sat in the middle of the parking lot and when moved, walked over to the outside eating area and barked loudly at us. We had a lovely river view.

I had previously found Maryland oysters to be tasteless but these were so fresh, bright and briny. We tore up half a dozen steamed to order extra large blue crab - I won!

In and Out

Look ma, no hands! I grabbed the bottle and held it myself! And then I shot poo out the back of my nappy.

Small Triumphs and the Riverdale Farmer's Market

First things first, Baby R is getting so strong and better at manipulating his chubby limbs. He can sort of hold his bottle by himself as well as sit up - albeit in a slouched, relaxed position. We had a lovely walk to the FedEx drop-off box, Target and the PetSmart - he loved all the fish and started bouncing up and down a little.

H & Z have this awesome little farmer's market in their town on Thursdays so off we went. Petunia snuck herself completely under the passenger seat!

I absolutely love Farmer's Markets and this one had all the wonderful organic fruits, veggies, flowers, dairy and meat one could ask for. Even more, they have a Bulgogi cart and a mini-doughnut stand! Who does not love a fresh small fried piece of dough dusted with confectioner's sugar?